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The King has begun treatment for a cancer diagnosed following his treatment for an enlarged prostate.

He will now undergo a schedule of regular treatments, during which he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties.

Buckingham Palace has not confirmed what type of cancer the King has.

Follow live: King chose to share diagnosis to ‘prevent speculation’

Here are some of the previous health issues the King has faced.

Enlarged prostate

The King’s health has been in the spotlight already this year.

On 17 January, he was diagnosed with a benign condition while staying at Birkhall in Aberdeenshire, after going for a check-up because he was experiencing symptoms.

He underwent surgery for the enlarged prostate, and it is understood he wanted to share the news to encourage other men to get themselves checked.

The NHS reported huge boosts in people asking to find out more about the condition affecting the King.

The King, who only acceded to the throne 16 months ago, cancelled engagements and was urged to rest by his doctors ahead of the corrective procedure.

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What next for the King?

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One in every three men over the age of 50 will have symptoms of an enlarged prostate, which include needing to visit the toilet more frequently, with more urgency, and difficulty emptying the bladder.

An enlarged prostate, known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, does not usually pose a serious threat to health, and it is not cancer.

Early polo injuries

In one of his earlier polo-related injuries, he was thrown and kicked by his pony and needed six stitches in 1980.

The King used to play polo regularly, which resulted in several injuries over the years. Pic: PA
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The King used to play polo regularly, which resulted in several injuries over the years. Pic: PA

He suffered a two-inch crescent scar on his left cheek after that incident.

He was also hit in the throat on another occasion, causing him to lose his voice for 10 days.

The monarch resisted pressure to give up polo after he collapsed in 1980 at the end of a game in Florida and had to be put on a saline drip.

Avalanche near-miss

In 1988, while skiing off-piste at Klosters on one of Europe’s most dangerous runs, he narrowly escaped an avalanche that killed his good friend Major Hugh Lindsay, who was a former equerry to Queen Elizabeth II.

He jumped to a ledge and helped save the life of another friend, Patti Palmer-Tomkinson, by digging her out of snow and keeping her conscious until a helicopter arrived.

He would later say he had never seen anything so terrifying.

Knee surgery

In March 1998, the King – then Prince Charles – had laser keyhole surgery on his right knee.

That came six years after an operation to repair torn cartilage in his left knee after a polo injury.

The outdoor and active Prince of Wales also suffered from back pain at the time, which had been aggravated over years of playing polo.

He never travelled on royal tours without a special cushion, usually a tartan one, which he used to ease back pain.

Broken rib

In the same year, he broke a rib when he fell from his horse in a hunting accident.

Double arm break

The then Prince of Wales leaving hospital after breaking his arm in 1990. Pic: PA
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The then Prince of Wales leaving hospital after breaking his arm in 1990. Pic: PA

The King has over the years had some form for falling from his horse in a polo game.

In June 1990 he broke his arm in two places and spent three nights in Cirencester Memorial Hospital in Gloucestershire after an accident in a competitive game of polo.

When he left hospital, he was reported to have told journalists outside “you can all go home at last”, as he got into his car.

He needed another operation three months later after one of the fractures didn’t properly heal.

It is understood bone was taken from his hip to help with healing the break, while a metal plate was also fitted with screws.

Shoulder fracture

In January 2001, he fractured a bone in his shoulder after falling off his horse during a fox hunt in Derbyshire.

The Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre in Nottingham, where the King was treated for the shoulder injury. Pic: PA
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The Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre in Nottingham, where the King was treated for the shoulder injury. Pic: PA

He had to wear a sling for several days while the fracture healed.

Knocked unconscious

Just a few months later, in August, he was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure for what was described as a minor injury.

But he had been knocked unconscious when his horse threw him during a polo match, leading to him being stretchered off and taken by ambulance.

It is reported he fell halfway through the second half of a charity polo match in Cirencester in Gloucestershire.

Hernia operation

Two years later, in March 2003, the King had a routine operation for a hernia, and reportedly joked afterwards “hernia today, gone tomorrow”.

It’s not clear how he picked up the injury, which is a common operation.

Growth removed

In 2008, he had a non-cancerous growth removed from the bridge of his nose in a routine procedure.

Catching COVID

In March 2020, the monarch, then 71, caught COVID before vaccinations were available.

His symptoms were mild and he isolated at Birkhall.

He lost his sense of taste and smell for a time, and later described it as “strange, frustrating and often distressing” being without friends and relatives over lockdown.

He was infected for a second time in February 2022, but at that point he was triple-vaccinated.

Appendix operation

In one of his earliest known admissions to hospital, the young prince was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital for an appendix operation as a 13-year-old in February 1962.

He declared on a later visit: “I got here just in time before the thing exploded and was happily operated on and looked after by the nurses.”

Big fingers

The King has long been aware of his large fingers. Pic: PA
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The King has long been aware of his large fingers. Pic: PA

Concern has been expressed over the years at his big fingers amid fears they might be due to fluid build-up or other conditions.

While any details around the cause – if any exist – have not been made public, the King has been aware of his puffy fingers for decades.

“He really does look surprisingly appetising and has sausage fingers just like mine,” he wrote in 1982 to a friend after the birth of his first son, William.

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Why do so many from around the world try to cross the English Channel?

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Why do so many from around the world try to cross the English Channel?

While the politicians talk, so many people come from around the world to try to get across the Channel on small boats. But why?

Why make such a perilous crossing to try to get to a country that seems to be getting increasingly hostile to asylum seekers?

As the British and French leaders meet, with small boats at the forefront of their agenda, we came to northern France to get some answers.

It is not a new question, but it is peppered with fresh relevance.

Over the course of a morning spent around a migrant camp in Dunkirk, we meet migrants from Gaza, Iraq, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and beyond.

Some are fearful, waving us away; some are happy to talk. Very few are comfortable to be filmed.

All but one man – who says he’s come to the wrong place and actually wants to claim asylum in Paris – are intent on reaching Britain.

They see the calm seas, feel the light winds – perfect conditions for small boat crossings.

John has come here from South Sudan. He tells me he’s now 18 years old. He left his war-torn home nation just before his 16th birthday. He feels that reaching Britain is his destiny.

“England is my dream country,” he says. “It has been my dream since I was at school. It’s the country that colonised us and when I get there, I will feel like I am home.

“In England, they can give me an opportunity to succeed or to do whatever I need to do in my life. I feel like I am an English child, who was born in Africa.”

John, a migrant from South Sudan, speaks to Sky News Adam Parsons
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‘England is my dream country,’ John tells Adam Parsons

He says he would like to make a career in England, either as a journalist or in human resources, and, like many others we meet, is at pains to insist he will work hard.

The boat crossing is waved away as little more than an inconvenience – a trifle compared with the previous hardships of his journey towards Britain.

We meet a group of men who have all travelled from Gaza, intent on starting new lives in Britain and then bringing their families over to join them.

One man, who left Gaza two years ago, tells me that his son has since been shot in the leg “but there is no hospital for him to go to”.

Next to him, a man called Abdullah says he entered Europe through Greece and stayed there for months on end, but was told the Greek authorities would never allow him to bring over his family.

Britain, he thinks, will be more accommodating. “Gaza is being destroyed – we need help,” he says.

Abdullah, a migrant from Gaza, speaking to Sky's Adam Parsons
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Abdullah says ‘Gaza is being destroyed – we need help’

A man from Eritrea tells us he is escaping a failing country and has friends in Britain – he plans to become a bicycle courier in either London or Manchester.

He can’t stay in France, he says, because he doesn’t speak French. The English language is presented as a huge draw for many of the people we talk to, just as it had been during similar conversations over the course of many years.

I ask many of these people why they don’t want to stay in France, or another safe European country.

Some repeat that they cannot speak the language and feel ostracised. Another says that he tried, and failed, to get a residency permit in both France and Belgium.

But this is also, clearly, a flawed survey. Last year, five times as many people sought asylum in France as in Britain.

And French critics have long insisted that Britain, a country without a European-style ID card system, makes itself attractive to migrants who can “disappear”.

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Migrant Channel crossings hit new record

A young man from Iraq, with absolutely perfect English, comes for a chat. He oozes confidence and a certain amount of mischief.

It has taken him only seven days to get from Iraq to Dunkirk; when I ask how he has made the trip so quickly, he shrugs. “Money talks”.

He looks around him. “Let me tell you – all of these people you see around you will be getting to Britain and the first job they get will be in the black market, so they won’t be paying any tax.

“Back in the day in Britain, they used to welcome immigrants very well, but these days I don’t think they want to, because there’s too many of them coming by boat. Every day it’s about seven or 800 people. That’s too many people.”

“But,” I ask, “if those people are a problem – then what makes you different? Aren’t you a problem too?”

He shakes his head emphatically. “I know that I’m a very good guy. And I won’t be a problem. I’ll only stay in Britain for a few years and then I’ll leave again.”

A young man from Iraq walks away from Sky's Adam Parsons

A man from Sri Lanka says he “will feel safe” when he gets to Britain; a tall, smiling man from Ethiopia echoes the sentiment: “We are not safe in our home country so we have come all this way,” he says. “We want to work, to be part of Britain.”

Emmanuel is another from South Sudan – thoughtful and eloquent. He left his country five years ago – “at the start of COVID” – and has not seen his children in all that time. His aim is to start a new life in Britain, and then to bring his family to join him.

He is a trained electrical engineer, but says he could also work as a lorry driver. He is adamant that Britain has a responsibility to the people of its former colony.

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“The British came to my country – colonising, killing, raping,” he said. “And we didn’t complain. We let it happen.

“I am not the problem. I won’t fight anyone; I want to work. And if I break the laws – if any immigrant breaks the laws – then fine, deport them.

“I know it won’t be easy – some people won’t like me, some people will. But England is my dream.”

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UK and France have ‘shared responsibility’ to tackle illegal migration, Emmanuel Macron says

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UK and France have 'shared responsibility' to tackle illegal migration, Emmanuel Macron says

Emmanuel Macron has said the UK and France have a “shared responsibility” to tackle the “burden” of illegal migration, as he urged co-operation between London and Paris ahead of a crunch summit later this week.

Addressing parliament in the Palace of Westminster on Tuesday, the French president said the UK-France summit would bring “cooperation and tangible results” regarding the small boats crisis in the Channel.

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King Charles III at the State Banquet for President of France Emmanuel Macron. Pic: PA
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King Charles III at the State Banquet for President of France Emmanuel Macron. Pic: PA

Mr Macron – who is the first European leader to make a state visit to the UK since Brexit – told the audience that while migrants’ “hope for a better life elsewhere is legitimate”, “we cannot allow our countries’ rules for taking in people to be flouted and criminal networks to cynically exploit the hopes of so many individuals with so little respect for human life”.

“France and the UK have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness,” he added.

Looking ahead to the UK-France summit on Thursday, he promised the “best ever cooperation” between France and the UK “to fix today what is a burden for our two countries”.

Sir Keir Starmer will hope to reach a deal with his French counterpart on a “one in, one out” migrant returns deal at the key summit on Thursday.

King Charles also addressed the delegations at a state banquet in Windsor Castle on Tuesday evening, saying the summit would “deepen our alliance and broaden our partnerships still further”.

King Charles speaking at state banquet welcoming Macron.
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King Charles speaking at state banquet welcoming Macron.

Sitting next to President Macron, the monarch said: “Our armed forces will cooperate even more closely across the world, including to support Ukraine as we join together in leading a coalition of the willing in defence of liberty and freedom from oppression. In other words, in defence of our shared values.”

In April, British officials confirmed a pilot scheme was being considered to deport migrants who cross the English Channel in exchange for the UK accepting asylum seekers in France with legitimate claims.

The two countries have engaged in talks about a one-for-one swap, enabling undocumented asylum seekers who have reached the UK by small boat to be returned to France.

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Britain would then receive migrants from France who would have a right to be in the UK, like those who already have family settled here.

The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks at the Palace of Westminster during a state visit to the UK
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President Macron greets Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle at his address to parliament in Westminster.

Elsewhere in his speech, the French president addressed Brexit, and said the UK could not “stay on the sidelines” despite its departure from the European Union.

He said European countries had to break away from economic dependence on the US and China.

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“Our two countries are among the oldest sovereign nations in Europe, and sovereignty means a lot to both of us, and everything I referred to was about sovereignty, deciding for ourselves, choosing our technologies, our economy, deciding our diplomacy, and deciding the content we want to share and the ideas we want to share, and the controversies we want to share.

“Even though it is not part of the European Union, the United Kingdom cannot stay on the sidelines because defence and security, competitiveness, democracy – the very core of our identity – are connected across Europe as a continent.”

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In pictures: Princess of Wales, Elton John and Mick Jagger at King’s state banquet for Macron

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In pictures: Princess of Wales, Elton John and Mick Jagger at King's state banquet for Macron

The Princess of Wales and celebrities attended the King’s star-studded state banquet on Tuesday, where Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II.

On the first day of Mr Macron’s state visit, King Charles gave a toast in French and said the three-day trip was another chance to “celebrate a deep and enduring friendship”.

“What’s possibly the most remarkable thing is the way in which the speciality of one country is part of the story of the other,” the monarch said.

“For centuries, our citizens have admired one another. We’ve made each other laugh, and we’ve imitated one another.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales at the State Banquet for President of France Emmanuel Macron. Pic: PA
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The Prince and Princess of Wales at the State Banquet. Pic: PA

The banquet hall at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA
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The banquet hall at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA

The King makes a speech at a banquet at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA
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The King makes a speech at a banquet at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA

King Charles looks at Emmanuel Macron at a state banquet at Windsor Castle
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King Charles looks at Emmanuel Macron at a state banquet at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA

After the King’s speech, Mr Macron told him France had a “real affection for your mother” Queen Elizabeth II, adding he believed the feeling was “reciprocal”.

“She was your queen,” he said. “To us, she was the Queen.”

He capped off his speech – which repeated his calls for closer relations that he made earlier in the Palace of Westminster – by saying: “In honour of the United Kingdom, of this entente amico that unites our two fraternal peoples in an unwavering alliance.

“Long live the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland! Long live France!”

Emmanuel Macron gives a speech at a state banquet at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA
Image:
Emmanuel Macron gives a speech at a state banquet at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA

The Princess of Wales also made her first appearance at a state banquet in almost two years, sitting next to the French president.

She last made an appearance at a grand royal dinner in November 2023 in honour of the South Korean president. It comes after she opened up about her “rollercoaster” cancer recovery last week.

Emmanuel Macron and Kate, the Princess of Wales, share a toast. Pic: PA
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Emmanuel Macron and Kate, the Princess of Wales, share a toast. Pic: PA

Also in attendance were Sir Mick Jagger, frontman of The Rolling Stones, who was joined by his fiancee Melanie Hamrick, and Sir Elton John, who was accompanied by his husband David Furnish.

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Mick Jagger taking his seat at the state banquet at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA
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Mick Jagger taking his seat at the state banquet at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA

Elton John and David Furnish at the state banquet at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA SQUARE
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Elton John and David Furnish at the state banquet at Windsor Castle. Pic: PA

Meanwhile, it was announced that the Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the Norman conquest of England, will return to the UK for the first time in more than 900 years, and will feature in an exhibition from September 2026 to July 2027.

Mr Macron joked ahead of the state banquet that negotiations to bring the 11th-century artwork back to the UK took longer “than all the Brexit tests”. Talks on a loan had started as early as 2018.

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